Nordstrom: Buy Online, Pickup In Stores

Multichannel advocates across the globe raise a glass of champagne, in honor of Nordstrom and their new strategy.

I am waiting for my local dentist to offer a "Buy A Root Canal Online, Pickup In Stores" option. Maybe universal health care will bring dentistry into the multichannel fold.

Orange Julius

A quick read of the DMNews Essential Guide To Multichannel Retail leaves one believing that retailers without a multichannel approach are about to be fossilized.

So let's pick a retailer, and give you an opportunity to share with all of us what an appropriate multichannel strategy would be.

The retailer: Orange Julius. Yes, that's right, the mall-based purveyor of appetite satisfaction.

It's unlikely that a catalog strategy will drive a dramatic increase in sales. It's unlikely that targeting prior hot dog consumers with discounted nachos via e-mail will move the needle (though they do offer an OJ Quench Club program that offers you e-mail discounts). And who is going to buy a smoothie online, and pick it up in the store? Or who wants to check retail inventory online to see if there will be an ample supply of turkey club pitas?

All kidding aside, here's your opportunity to draw up a multichannel strategy for an atypical retail brand. What ideas do you have (and all ideas are good ideas in this case, I won't be offering my thoughts in the comments section, so have at it)?